Silvanost - Planning for War

26 Gildember 348 AC

Raven looks over at Lorraine, Alara, Agnes and Ornforithalas, out of uniform for the first time since they met him, and then back to Grotto and replies, "Because it is the right thing to do."

Before anyone goes anywhere, Romulus climbs atop one of the tables. "Spellcasters, tonight, we bind the time dimensional. If you have spells that allow you to influence or directly control other creatures, prepare them. We need to... persuade χρόνος to allow this to happen."

Ra’ziir nods silently indicating his acknowledgment.

“Romulus, I’m not sure of what use I could be as the majority of my spells are for combat and deception. I could prepare Dominate Person and my highest Monster Summons if that would be helpful. Or perhaps Touch of Idiocy could make our quarry stupid enough to agree?If you think they’ll help, I’ll prepare them. Multiple times if need be.” Kysek expresses to his old friend.

Shadow nods in agreement. “I've got charms and summoning spells. We can go definitely pick some good ones.”

Grotto shakes his head, "All my magic is based on my god. It does not work in this land."

Cedron pauses for a moment thinking through his repertoire and then nods in acknowledgment.

The scarred dwarf sighs and looks back at Raven. "Their pirate navy seems to control the sea. Landing supplies and more troops at will. I'm no sailor but I think we should address that first. Their army seems tough. More of those mages working together plus lizardmen and goblins could overrun anything in their path. There seems to be a few of the Council who would be willing to back a pirate and bandit hunt! Not officially, maybe, so we'll just call this a 'special operation' instead of a war!"

"I agree with Grotto," says Raven as he rises to his feet, "If the Dragonarmies are planning on using their ships to land troops and resupply them, then sinking those ships or, even better, intercepting those supplies would be of great benefit to the elven forces." Raven rises and smooths his tunic. "I will speak with Councilor Summerwalker to learn how many and what kind of ships are available for the operation."

Shadow grins slyly, “I will see what I can come up with to sink ships. Not my normal prey. I will be hitting the books." 

"Arrrg matey! Pirates we be hunting! We will send those scurvy bilge rats to Davey Jones locker" Grotto says with a stereotypical pirate accent, trying to bring a bit of levity to this dire situation.

Raven pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes, as if he is in pain, "Please, never talk like that again."

Grotto smiles back at with Raven, "I'm going to head up the road to the healers. Good luck with Summerwalker. I'm sure she won't be able to say no to such a dashing captain as you....arrg, Captain, good luck!" Grotto laughs as his ribs his friend.

Cedron excuses himself from those gathered at Lorraine’s. The others can hear the minstrel-priest mumble about “Cursed wars. For once could we not arrive at a nice quiet beach town?”

Then he vomits.

Cedron cleans up and makes his way back to the group with the look of a grieving man trying to cover his emotions for the well-being of others.

“So how do we disrupt this war and limit the loss of life? We’re more than murder-hobos after all. We’ve got good looks and brains too.” He says half-jokingly.

Agnes walks over to join the group with Lorraine and Alara in tow. Her brow furrows slightly, "Normally, I would recommend diplomatic methods but as it appears that Lord Ariakas has no intention of honoring the agreement we already have and since there will be no support from the Council, I think we should begin moving as many noncombatants to a defensible location. We send out parties to begin quietly relocating the citizens of Alinosti, Brattalnosti, and the other outlying communities here, to the capital, where they can be more easily protected."

Ornforithalas replies, "That's a fine plan but I can't leave the city."

Lorraine raises an eyebrow, "There are others we can send. Others who won't draw as much attention or cause as much alarm as a Silvanesti captain - my healers, for example."

Cedron nods. “Perhaps some misdirection is in order? There’s a strategy where one makes a big noise or distraction in the west and attacks from the east. Maybe if we can our enemy to focus on the wrong thing, we can safely move people to secure areas?”

"Lorraine!" Grotto exclaims while looking around the room. "The war is here. I must go defend this place before it is too late. How can I help the healers prepare before our plot is discovered?"

The Knight of the Barrie leans forward in his seat, “This war was well in progress before our arrival. It would seem we are being sent to places where certain outcomes must happen. I mean; if we hadn’t intervened in the places we’ve been, there’s a very real possibility the side that needed to win wouldn’t. Imagine a world where evil has dominated at every turn. Perhaps THAT is what we are meant to prevent. While I can’t figure out the being sent to the past thing yet; I’m still pondering the why. Perhaps it’s just one more thing in a long line of things. Perhaps; when we’re done and finally return to our homes, evil will have been vanquished and we can retire? This is our course. Our band of ‘Murder Hoboes’ as you so eloquently stated will prevent loss of life. I’d be willing to bet; if we weren’t here, it would be worse.” Kysek states plainly with a furrowed brow. “I think we do need to keep scouting the most obvious points of attack so we can give as much warning as possible. We can’t do this by ourselves," he adds in conclusion.

Romulus stands, "In my recent studies of Chronomancy, I have learned many things about the flow of time and it Is Possible that we were sent here, to the past, because we Were here in the past before. But, from our perspective, it is our first time doing this. I'm not saying that everything we do from this point on is preordained but, it is probable that we are only doing the things we have already done."

Ra’ziir sits in a shadowed corner, the hood of his black cloak drawn low over his eyes as he flips through the pages of his large grimoire.

A slight smirk appears on his face, as if any would be able to notice, as he listens to the others proclaim their various perspectives.

Quietly, seemingly to himself and without losing focus on the pages before him, the hooded elf offers “This talk of war and peace, past and present, good and evil… are they all not just differing perspectives? From the opposite side of each of these perspectives, could the Elves of this city not be the evil warmongers of the past? Could not we be the cause of this spreading evil in the present? After all, as has been said, is there not evil everywhere we go, and will we not take it with us into the future..?”

He lets the words fade like a wisp of smoke on a breeze and turns another page in his grimoire.

Raven makes his way down the broad, straight avenues that run through Silvanost and finally arrives at the docks lining the river. He asks around for Councilor Summerwalker and receives a few sets of conflicting directions but soon finds her ship, the Lindarëa, "Tiderunner" in the Common Tongue. She and her crew are hanging fishing nets to dry and making repairs to chaffed sections as needed. He breathes in the smell of varnish and tar, closing his eyes to savor the moment. He makes his way up the gangplank, admiring the woodwork scrolled into the gunwales and stops when he reaches the top, asking for permission to come aboard before setting foot on the deck.

Summerwalker approaches. "I saw you in Council. You were one of the adventurers in Captain Ornforithalas' party, yes?"

"Yes, Captain. Raven Straightbow, at your service."

"Please, call me Eilra. How may I help you?"

Wasting no time, Raven begins to explain the conclusion the party has reached, adding that he would like to take the fight to the Minotaur ships once battles begin.

The blond elf smiles, her blue eyes shining in the late autumn sun. "I like the way you think but we cannot fight the minotaurs at sea. We have no warships, just a few dozen fishing boats and a handful of trading vessels." She turns, looking upstream for a moment, "There's two, maybe three, week's of good sailing weather left. Unless Lord Ariakas is willing to throw away troops and materiel, he won't risk the gales of Darkember once they begin. Have you ever been aboard a ship at sea during a storm? It's not a pleasant experience."

Raven chuckles softly, "No. It isn't. But there are worse things to sail through."

Eilra turns, her eyes sweeping across the swordsman standing before her, curiosity piqued. "Go on," her voice carrying the weight of an order despite her casual bearing.

"My companions and I were sailing aboard a caravel when a vortex suddenly appeared directly ahead of our ship. The maelstrom quickly expanded until it was broad enough for us to look down its very throat and see figures with the shape of men moving through the muck and mud on the seabed. I stood by the anchor while our helmsman and another of our crew wrestled against the wheel. We dropped over the precipice but a well-timed spell collapsed one side of the funnel and the sea spat us back out into open water on the far side."

Eilra raises one delicate eyebrow, "I'm not sure I believe you."

Raven shrugs, "I have no talent for storytelling or deception. I speak plainly and have some skill with a sword and ships. I have made friends with some of your people and would see them safe if it is at all possible to do so."

"Well then. I believe we have much to discuss."